Lazy Day and Infant Acne

Looking awfully jaunty in his little hat

Sucking Dad's finger to soothe the shame of infant acne

Not much happened today. I did a few things around the house. Will and I worked as a team to increase my milk supply for his upcoming surgery. I washed his face to help his poor infant acne clear up. It looks terrible, but doesn't seem to bother him at all. Tomorrow we get to go to Dr Rahman's for a weight check and pre-op appointment. It will be interesting to see how much he weighs now, I think it will be a significant jump from 2 weeks ago. I also tried to get the hang of an infant sling today, but it just felt awkward and Will got very mad in the process of trying to figure it out. He seemed to realize I had no idea how to use it.

Meeting Grandpa

Grandpa came to see Will yesterday morning, arriving very tired after a very messy and long travel experience. They spent a nice day together yesterday and today we went to the Postal Museum. I have wanted to go to it for a while and Mike was kind enough to agree to go. It was pretty good, but seeing a museum is getting harder with a baby in tow. Will rode the Metro again, he's so urban! We are planning a nice evening at home, I will make fajitas for dinner, and then Mike needs to go in to his hotel for meetings the rest of the week.

Random Tasks and Surgery Update

Farmer Will in his overalls.

Today we ran errands and I got the dishwasher emptied and reloaded before 2 pm! Amazing. I went to the consignment shop and found some great clothes in the 1 dollar bin. I also got a couple board books that a little boy will like. Tomorrow Grandpa is coming to visit. It would be nicer if Grandma Jeanie was coming too. I feel bad that she isn't seeing Will. We picked up Jason after work and braved Costco. We got all the stuff we needed and got out of there as soon as possible. I was able to give Will an entire feeding while standing in line! Most people around here seem okay with me breastfeeding in public. I am very discreet, so I don't think most people realize what I am doing. I did get some flack from the security guards at the Smithsonian the other day who kept asking me if I would like to go to some back area so I could have privacy. I could tell they were far more uncomfortable than I was. I politely told them no repeatedly and then went and nursed outside. Ugh! I havent started using my cloth diapers yet, Will is still too small, but I am using the cloth diaper wipes and I love them! They work so well and come out great in the wash. I only use one or two where with disposable wipes I used four to six. One small way to help Mother Nature. As for the latest on the upcoming surgery it is scheduled for April 14th, I don't have a time yet, they will let me know later. I really like this surgeon, but I can't imagine how I will be able to hand my sweet little baby over to someone who will CUT him.....though I guess that is what I did for the circumsicion. I am mostly just nervous for the general anesthesia. The next week will be very hard, just dreading it. I will be SO glad when it is over.

4 weeks old

Will is already 4 weeks old today! I videotaped a little, but I don't think these movies will ever win any awards. We spent the day at home, slept, ate, talked to Grandma on the phone. Daddy was assisting at bathtime tonight, which he hadn't done before. The best accomplishment today was actually getting to eat all my dinner, when it was.... HOT!!! Will calmly played under his baby gym until I was done. All in all a good day. This has been such an amazing, life changing 4 weeks. I love Will more and more every day and while I love that he is little and sweet, I can't wait for him to start doing things and see him grow.
Will enjoying one of his baby dreams.

Will in Aunt Molly's shirt from England, the pants still don't fit.

One of these list things......

5 Things you can't live without under $5
1. Single Shot Venti Cinnamon Dolce Latte
2. Feta Cheese
3. Ranch Dressing
4. Cable tv (under $5 a day)
5. My Husband (Free)

5 Favorite Movies
1. A Room With A View
2. The Harvey Girls (Angela Lansbury as a Prostitute?)
3. State Fair
4. The Holiday
5. Love Actually

5 Baby names you LOVE but would never use.
Boys
1. Dante Lorenzo
2. Juan Carlos
3. Samuel (Simmons, yuck!)
4. Jonah
5. Moses

Girls
1. Diana
2. Ruth
3. Virginia
4. Alexis
5. Naomi

5 Songs you could listen to over and over again
1. Sweet Home Alabama
2. Anything Indigo Girls
3. Your Love - Sarah MacLachlan
4. Billie Jean- and most Michael Jackson 80's sadly enough
5. Wide Open Spaces

5 People who have had a positive influence in my life
1. My Mom
2. Jason
3. JoAnne Buiteweg
4. Dr Sorber
5. My weight watchers leaders ( there has been more than one)

5 Things in your purse you cannot live without
1. Diaper and wipes
2. Debit Card
3. Keys
4. Cell Phone
5. Sunglasses

5 Moments that changed your life forever
1. FINALLY telling Jason that I loved him, and finding out it was mutual....
2. Moving to Wisconsin
3. My Parents Divorce
4. March 5th 2008 9:12pm
5. Every moment since then......

5 Current Obsessions
1. Lactating
2. Sleep
3. Taxes
4. The Damn Cat's stitches
5. Will's Bowels

5 Places I would love to go
1. The British Isles
2. Zurich to see Jenny and Rick
3. Seattle - so everyone could see the baby
4. Guatemala
5. Disneyland (again)

I was tagged to do this by Sam, I won't forward it because everyone I can think of has done it, except Bridget- Hey Bridget, get to it!

PCOS rant

For many years I have supposedly had "Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome". Basically it is a hormonal imbalance that causes irregular periods/ovulation, increased weight, difficulty losing weight, increased facial hair, and a few other weird things. I have been unwilling to admit that this is really my problem. I worked very hard to lose 50 pounds for 2 years in weight watchers, thus telling myself that the PCOS was not an issue. I got my periods back with the weight loss, so then I attributed the irregular menstruation to the fact I had allowed myself to pack on so much weight. I then became pregnant, by some miracle. So I figured the PCOS had disappeared or had never existed. Then I was diagnosed with low progesterone during the pregnancy and risked miscarriage. Darn! I thought I had escaped the PCOS stuff. I never thought about the breastfeeding part. I figured it wouldn't happen to me, I had heard rumors in the medical community that women with PCOS had trouble breastfeeding, but to me? Never. Then Will came. I am so frustrated that I can't keep up with his demand. I feel like a failure. And the half formula, half breastfeeding thing is so annoying! I have all the hassles of bottles and formula mixing and the hassle of breastmilk leaking, sore boobs, etc. I have tried fenugreek and that helps a little, but I must say that when the La Leche League says that PCOS women may have to supplement with formula you know it is very serious and real. ( A lot of women call them the Nipple Nazi's because they are so against any bottle feeding) It is hard as a woman to admit that you can't easily get pregnant, you can't deliver naturally, and then after those hurdles you can't even breastfeed properly! I have been able to overcome so many problems in my life that it really frustrates me when I can't. I guess I just need to be happy that I live in the age of formula and Will is still getting a decent amount of breastmilk at each feeding. Breastfeeding is so much easier, the 25 seconds to heat the bottle at 3 am is the longest 25 seconds of your life.

And then there were two......

Jason wanted a artistic picture of Will laying on a branch. I found it quite frightening.

Today was my first day of just William and myself by ourselves. It went fine, although the baby tub hasn't been emptied yet and the dishes are still in the sink. However, interestingly, I am finding the time to post about the fact this hasn't been done... Hmm. He is sleeping at the moment and I was trying to fill out some of his baby book. We walked to the post office and Starbucks this morning after his bath. It was drizzling when I got outside but since I had already hauled all the stuff down the stairs I figured I might as well cover the baby and get a little wet. He has been extremely gassy lately and I am not sure if it is his formula, my milk, or the fact that he gulps tons of air while he eats. I burp him all the time and this always results in very manly, full sized burps so I feel like I am getting much of the air he swallows back out. Who knows. Hopefully, as he grows, he will stop gulping so much. This morning at 9am I think we may have had an actual smile. I had just fed him, and burped him, and he looked up directly at me and smiled. It was lovely. All the fatigue was suddenly very worth it. I will try and get a picture as soon as I can capture one.